Page 44 of Suddenly Yours

In the nearly two years that I’d spent with Levi, I could count on one hand the number of times that he’d made me laugh, really laugh. There had been comfort instead. Approval. Ease. My parents loved him. My father respected him. That had mattered more to me back then than I’d ever admitted.

Even as my parents’ marriage cracked and splintered, Levi and my dad had remained close, bonded by ambition and appearances. It had been… convenient. Familiar. Safe.

I’d ignored the way Levi corrected me. Directed me. Shrunk me. I’d ignored it because being chosen by someone my parents adored felt like success.

I’d dated others before him, boys they’d disapproved of for a dozen reasons, but Levi had been the exception. The one they’d wanted for me.

My gaze drifted to Cade, standing a few feet away from me. His hands were shoved into his jean pockets, and he was watching me with that quiet attentiveness that he never tried to hide.

And it struck me then, sharp and sudden.

I’d never once considered what my parents thought of him.

Because Cade had always been… mine.

If they’d disliked him, I would have still chosen him. Still laughed with him. Still trusted him with my fears and my dreams and my worst days. Their approval had never factored into… us.

That realization settled heavy and sure in my chest. It made my next move seem all the more reasonable.

Walking up to him and stopping when our toes met, I smiled.

“Cade,” I repeated. “I don’t want to go home.”

Then, before I had a chance to blink, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close until our bodies melted together. His mouth covered mine. He was warm, strong, and just as hungry as I was.

The moment our mouths touched, it was as if time stopped. I no longer felt my own heartbeats. No longer could breathe on my own.

Every move we made was as if it had been well rehearsed, practiced for years, all for this moment.

His steady hands removed my clothes, and when his rough fingertips finally touched my skin, I knew there was no stopping, no going back.

Cade was mine. Now and forever. And I was his.

There were no fumbling fingers as I pulled his shirt off over his head. When I unbuckled his jeans and slid them down over his narrow hips, I marveled at the body I’d seen grow along with my own. Now he was lean, toned, and full of muscles that I’d spent the last few years admiring silently.

My own body was toned yet far smaller and softer. I worked out, but the hours I put in at my bakery didn’t always allow for weight training time.

I knew Cade wasn’t going to complain. Not when the low moan escaped his lips as he ran his fingertips over my skin. His mouth continued to cover mine as our kisses deepened and turned almost desperate.

My body heated even more when I finally stood in front of him in nothing but the cream-colored silk panties and bra that I’d purchased for myself on my last birthday.

“Missy.” Cade’s moan was so soft that for a moment I questioned if he’d spoken at all.

“Don’t you dare stop,” I warned, and he chuckled.

“I don’t think I can. I mean, I will, if you want, but…” He groaned.

“Don’t stop,” I said softly and buried my fingers into his hair, pulling him back down until our lips met again.

I felt like I was floating and only when the cool sheets of his bed touched my shoulders did I realize why. He’d backed me up and gently laid me down, covering me without breaking the kiss.

I wanted to tell him how smooth he was, but all I managed was a groan when his mouth trailed down my neck, sending a wave of goose bumps over my exposed skin.

Closing my eyes, I marveled at what he was doing with his mouth. How his tongue and lips traced a hot trail over my skin. He dampened my silk bra as he trailed the tip of his tongue over me, and my nipples responded to his touch.

All the while, his fingers gently drew circles around my bellybutton and hip. I wanted him to touch me more. Faster.

When I reached for him, he pinned my wrists above my head and grinned down at me.